Final Score: #24 Nebraska 35 South Alabama 21

Brief Recap: Nebraska didn’t quite whip South Alabama the way most people expected, but the Huskers came away with the win. It took them seven games to get one victory a year ago, so they’re already well ahead of where they were last fall. The Blackshirts accounted for two touchdowns, a pick-six and a fumble recovery in the end zone, and JD Spielman return a punt for a score, as well. That means the highly-praised Nebraska offense accounted for just 14 points. That’s not what Husker fans expected, but there’s no complaints about the defense balling out in the opener.

Key Moment: Clinging to a 28-21 lead early in the fourth quarter, Alex Davis  was able to force and pounce on a fumble in the end zone to jump up to a two-touchdown lead. That moment was a killer for South Alabama, and took away any and all momentum for the Jaguars. It was the last score of the contest.

Key Stat: Speaking of the Nebraska defense, it forced five turnovers in the 35-21 win over South Alabama. That’s a pretty significant total, especially when the Husker offense had three turnovers of its own. Nebraska struggled to get takeaways a year ago, so this was a good sign in the opener.

Key Player: The theme has been defense, so it should be no surprise that Eric Lee Jr. gets the nod as the top performer in this one. He came up with seven tackles, two interceptions, one of which was a pick-six. If he wasn’t on the field, Nebraska may have been in even more trouble.

What it Means: Maybe we should slow down just a touch on the Nebraska hype train. Yes, Nebraska is still a really talented team and it’s still a squad capable of competing in the B1G West. But this is still a work in progress and there’s plenty of room for improvement. The Huskers were favored to beat South Alabama by five touchdowns, and escaped with a 14-point win. Is this a better team than a year ago? Yes. Does it still have a long way to go? Yes.